Angels eyeing Madson

It was either blind luck or rare foresight when the Angels did not sign Ryan Madson for 2012.

You can put that in the context of everything else they've done lately and decide which.

The 6-foot-6 closer from Moreno Valley came off a bravura 2011 with Philadelphia, signed a one-year deal with Cincinnati, and had Tommy John surgery at the end of March.

The Reds thus threw away $8.5 million, and now Madson is rehabbed and ready to sign another one-year contract with somebody else.

The Angels are at the front of that line.

This is not a case of plug-and-play and start the parade. The Angels would have to work out a maintenance schedule with Madson. He is unlikely to handle the first ninth-inning situation they face.

But if he can plant his flag in that soupy Angels bullpen, and if he can become the same victory cigar that Bryan Harvey, Troy Percival and Francisco Rodriguez were, then the Angels will have fulfilled their list and can head for checkout … provided they can patch the 400-inning hole that is left in their rotation.

Madson, represented by Scott Boras, and the Angels have been seriously discussing a deal that would include several make-good provisions and wouldn't be as costly as the contract with the Reds.

The Angels' own Dr. Lewis Yocum did the surgery on Madson.

Of course, Cincinnati doctors were stunned when Madson's ligament tore last spring, because his elbow looked so pristine when the Reds signed him.

So you never know. The Angels are already paying enough people not to play, or not to play very often. They didn't need to be watching ballgames explode at 10 p.m. all summer while getting daily bulletins on Madson's recovery.

Now, at least, they are properly motivated to hire a closer. They blew 22 of 60 save situations. Remember, they missed the AL playoffs by just four games. In 2010, they spit up 25 saves in 64 opportunities, again leading the American League.

In both seasons they ranked 13th, or next to last, in save percentage. From 2000-09, the first 10 seasons of Mike Scioscia, the Angels were in the top four in save percentage eight times. They were second in the championship season of 2002.

That doesn't just count ninth-inning saves. The Angels were equally adept at burning down the seventh and eighth innings. Their relievers allowed 33 percent of inherited runners to score, tying Kansas City for a league high. The Yankees bullpen provided the most absolution, at 22 percent.

But bullpens are volatile. Jose Valverde was a perfect closer in 2011, and the Tigers were hiding him under sofa cushions in the 2012 postseason.

If the Angels do sign Madson, as most people in baseball expect, and if he becomes what he was, Scioscia won't be so tempted to set the bullpen phone on “silent.”

Ernesto Frieri, Scott Downs, Kevin Jepsen and Jordan Walden could be the lead-ins, and maybe lefty Nick Maronde, unless the Angels have visions of starting him.

Bullpens are also havens for the hard-luck stories. John Axford and Tom Wilhelmsen were bartenders before they became top closers. It's time for a stranger like Ben Weber to wander into the Angels' life again.

Madson is so intriguing because he is a right-hander who tortures left-handed hitters. In 2011, he held them to a .198 batting average and gave them no home runs in 108 plate appearances, thanks to a devilish changeup that he is not afraid to repeat.

Madson fanned 62 in 60
2/3
innings, with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.154 WHIP. He nailed 32 of 34 save opportunities.

He became a full-time reliever in 2007 and was Brad Lidge's front man. But he couldn't wrest the ninth inning away from Jose Contreras when Lidge got hurt early in 2011.

For one thing, the Phillies had seen Madson kick a clubhouse chair in San Francisco after he blew a save in 2010, and his broken toe knocked him out for 2
1/2
months.

Madson searched so diligently for a quiet mind that he found himself literally saying “focus” before every pitch. So don't try to convince him that ninth-inning outs are as easily harvested as others.

Madson was an Angels fan, even back in the periwinkle days.

He learned the changeup in Little League, and as he picked up velocity at Valley View High, he got a scholarship offer from USC.

The Phillies signed him as a ninth-round pick, in the same 1998 draft that they led off with Pat Burrell.

No, he brings no guarantees. But the Angels know what is certain to happen if they don't sign Madson or someone like him. The results of that experiment are still rattling around the rock pile.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.